The male - I have found - is a domestic animal which, if treated with firmness and kindness, can be trained to do most things.

Bachelors begin at thirty-six. Up till this age they are regarded as single men.

Without doubt, keep a diary. From the day you're born, keep a diary, because we all forget things so quickly.

hurting other people is not excusable because you've been hurt yourself.

Leo, sadly, has Parkinsons, but he used to cook all sorts of dazzling things.

it's a good idea to wait a few months before joining anything when you arrive at a village. A bookseller friend who retired to nearby Oxfordshire, and was worried he might be bored, got himself on to every village committee in the first six months, and spent the next ten years extricating himself.

Although it is the biggest time-waster in office life, you must never underrate the importance of the memo. You will be judged by the volume of your paper work.